China using WeChat, other means to shape public policy outcomes in Texas, Florida: Report

Beijing [China], May 1 : The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using the WeChat platform and other means to try and shape public policy outcomes in Texas and Florida, according to The Diplomat.

Shortly after the Texas legislature convened for its annual session on January 10, Texas State Senator Lois Kolkhorst, introduced SB147, a bill that would ban governments, compes, and citizens of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from purchasing land in Texas, according to The Diplomat.

This legislation was triggered by a former Chinese military officer's 2021 purchase of 140,000 acres of land near Laughlin Air Force Base near Del Rio, Texas. Texas Governor Greg Abbot, on January 15, signalled his support for the bill.

The next day, WeChat, whose content is thoroughly regulated by the CCP, was flooded with misinformation about the legislation.

Starting on 1point3acres (Yi Mu San Fen Di ), a large WeChat public account and online forum and website managed from Shandong, China, narratives emerged describing SB147 as a "new Chinese Exclusion Act," while avoiding any mention of what triggered it, The Diplomat reported.

Additional new anti-SB147 groups emerged on WeChat in the days that followed. As is characteristic of other CCP-sanctioned campaigns on the platform, these WeChat groups had a singular narrative slant. They forbid balanced discussions, kicked out anyone who disagreed, and promoted the most radical (and in this case anti-American) voices.

Those in support of the bill were called "Chinese traitors." Some posts encouraged users to sabotage pro-SB147 accounts by labelling them as spam, reporting them to the FBI as spies, or even assaulting the users behind them, as per The Diplomat.

Meanwhile, Asia Times recently reported that over a quarter of American firms are prioritizing other countries over China, the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) said.

According to the AmCham China survey, 27 per cent of its members are considering countries other than China when making their investment decisions, mainly due to concerns about an uncertain policy environment in China.